Chinese investors take a swing at US golf courses

Wealthy Chinese investors are adding golf courses to their growing portfolios of US holdings, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Pacific Links International, partly owned by Du Sha, a former economics professor, has invested in 10 high-end US courses, including the US$20-million Dove Canyon Golf Club in south Orange County, California.

Last year, Chinese investors acquired the 2,000-acre Sea Trail Golf Resort, built around three courses on Sunset Beach, North Carolina, and Rancho Duarte Golf Club, a nine-hole, par-31 course in San Gabriel Valley, southern California.

“We’re seeing a lot of tires getting kicked by the Chinese,” Jeffrey Woolson, managing director for golf and resorts at real estate services firm CBRE Group, was quoted as saying. “They only recently came forward and started buying. They do love golf, so it makes sense.”

The influx is restoring the fortunes of unprofitable clubs such as Dove Canyon, where Pacific Links has committed US$6.2 million to refurbishments after buying the property in 2013, the report said.

Major Chinese investments in US businesses doubled to US$14 billion last year, and added US$8 billion in the first three months this year, according to New York-based consulting firm Rhodium Group.

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